Warm home
One of the most socially important programmes of the Belarusian Children’s Fund is the programme called “Warm Home”.
The aim of the programme is to find families for orphaned children and create family type homes.
A family type home is a family bringing up at least 5 orphaned children.
Within the framework of the programme, the Belarusian Children’s Fund together with local authorities creates family type homes. The decision about the creation of a family type homes is taken by the local regional executive committee.
Creation and functioning of a family type home is carried out in accordance with Regulation ¹289 “On family type homes” adopted by the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus on February 28, 2006.
Within the framework of the programme the Belarusian Children’s Fund:
ü Selects families, which are ready to bring up 5 or more orphaned children, together with local education departments;
ü Provides family type homes with residential facilities by means of buying homes, which are legally considered to be the property of the Belarusian Children’s Fund for 15 years;
ü Concludes rental agreements with parents of family type homes, which are registered by local executive committees, in accordance to which a house and its land are given to the family type home for use free of charge. Maintenance of a family type home is covered out of the local authorities’ budget. Parents-educators receive salary, the Government pays child benefits, covers public utilities’ cost and renders other help to family type homes. The tenant, a children’s family type home, makes small repairing of the building, pays insurance and land taxes. In line with the terms of the agreement, in 15 years the house can pass into the ownership of the family free of charge provided that during the 15-year period the family retains the status of the family type home and there are no claims from the Belarusian Children’s Fund (the Landlord) as to the fulfillment of its obligations;
- Redecorates newly purchased houses and provides necessary facilities;
- Provides newly founded family type homes with the most necessary furniture and household equipment;
- Renders financial support to family type homes in solving their day-to-day problems;
- Protects children’s rights;
- Organizes social and pedagogical supervision of orphaned children (organizes medical care as well as consultations on treatment and care, provides recuperation of children abroad or recuperation and rehabilitation in Belarusian centers, renders legal and psychological assistance and support);
- Assists in developing creative and athletic skills and abilities, as necessary, provides them sports inventory and fitness equipment;
- Organizes various events, holidays, concerts, exhibitions, meetings, excursions and involves parents and children from family type homes in these activities;
- Renders humanitarian help to orphaned children;
- Assists parents-educators and education departments in finding job opportunities for orphaned children and helps the children to get technical and professional education;
- If possible, finds an individual sponsor (either foreign or local) for each family type home;
- Organizes meeting of parents-educators in order to let them share their knowledge and experience; organizes courses and seminars in cooperation with departments of education;
- Studies and summarizes working experience of family type homes;
- Organizes a wide coverage of the programme implementation in mass media and on the Fund’s own web site, shares the families’ experience of raising orphaned children in family type homes and preparing them for independent life, gives credit to foreign sponsors for their contribution to helping orphans.